150 Years of Health Care at Fairmont | News, sports, jobs

Above: Medical director Kenda Kamlitz, MD, cuts the ceremonial ribbon outside the Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont on Thursday. The ribbon and event itself marks 150 years since the first permanent Doctor arrived in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – A celebration of 150 years since the city of Fairmont’s first full-time physician arrived in Fairmont outside of the Mayo Clinic Health System was held in Fairmont on Thursday. And that was 30 years after the Mayo Clinic Health System was created in 1992. For 2021, but delayed due to Covid-19.

In addition to Mayo Clinic staff and equipment, the event featured displays from other community organizations, including the Martin County Historical Society, Sky Table Food Pantry, Fairmont Community Hospital Foundation, Statewide Partnership for Health Improvement, Martin County Substance Abuse Center. Combination and Apple Tree teeth.

“It’s really encouraging to think about the progress we’ve made. In 1871, we went from having one physician in Martin County to a full medical center with qualified professional nurses. Fairmont Administrator Amy Long in her remarks to the audience.

Long was joined by medical director Kendra Kamlitz, MD, who said the health system at Fairmont is working to improve patient care by implementing new technologies and methods.

“We want to be the most trusted partner for our patients when they need care in their area and when they want care beyond what we can provide locally.” said Kamlitz.

Kamlitz cited the health system’s expansion of telehealth services and the new mobile health clinic as improving access to health care in two ways.

We’re sure some things will change, but some things will stay the same. For us at Mayo Clinic, this means that our core value is putting the patient’s needs first.” said Kamlitz.

According to Lenny Tividton, executive director of the Martin County Historical Society, Dr. David Winslow Hunt was the first full-time resident physician in Fairmont. In the year Born in 1845, Hunt was a Civil War veteran who survived a long stint in a Confederate prison before moving to Fairmont to complete his medical degree the same year. He performed his first surgery in Martin County, riding the circuit in the homes of his patients. In the year In 1882, he could not tolerate the Minnesota climate and emigrated to California, where he lost money through a series of unsuccessful business ventures before dying there in 1922.

Fairmont’s early doctors worked in a variety of fields in addition to their medical profession. They laid out the town of Fairmont, designed buildings, ran businesses and one served as mayor and state representative.

Fairmont’s first hospital was founded in 1914 and had beds for up to 10 patients at a time. In the first two years, doctors performed about 300 operations and did not have a maternity ward. At first it was worked by only two doctors.

Fairmont’s Second Main Hospital It was opened in 1928 as a private practice, which was later reorganized in 1956 due to mounting debts. Amid rapid medical advances, hospital administrators realized they needed more space to modernize their services, and the facility was demolished in 1970 and replaced by the current Fairmont facility.

The facility, which later became the Mayo Clinic Health System, opened in 1971 as Fairmont Medical Clinic. An expansion and renovation of the facility was completed in 1992 and the clinic was integrated into Mayo Clinic’s new network of regional health care facilities in 1994. The merger gives the Fairmont facility access to Mayo’s unique expertise and resources. Since the merger, the facility has built a new ambulance facility, opened a new cancer center and expanded its cardiac rehabilitation services.